Hemophilia treatment studied in recent Pfizer trial

A new hemophilia treatment was recently part of a phase-three trial. | Courtesy of Shutterstock

A treatment for hemophilia B that was first approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1997 was the subject of a recent phase-three study.

BeneFIX Coagulation Factor IX (recombinant) -- a product of pharmaceutical company Pfizer Inc., which is indicated in the U.S. for the control and prevention of bleeding incidents in adult and pediatric hemophilia B patients -- was the subject of a recent study that tested a once-weekly prophylactic regimen of the drug in comparison with an as-needed regimen. Test subjects were patients living with moderate to severe hemophilia B.

“In this study, a once-weekly prophylactic regimen with BeneFIX provided a significant reduction in bleeding, which is an important goal in managing hemophilia,” Pablo Rendo, Pfizer's global clinical lead, said.

The trial lasted 52 weeks: 36 percent of the test subjects reported no bleeding incidents at all, while 48 percent had no spontaneous bleeding episodes. The study took place at multiple locations around the world. It was non-randomized and open-label.